Sunday 11 March 2012

Spring!

Willow is always the first tree to show new leaves around here, and it's a sure sign that spring growth is moving:

Willow leaves
As soon as the catkins open up, we find bees, flies and hoverflies eager to feed on the new year's food supplies:

Willow catkins
Now we can expect to see the willow-feeding Andrena bees and various Quaker moths.

Earlier today, I found my first hoverfly of the year - Eristalis tenax, and I saw a queen Bombus terrestris checking out little holes and hollows to find a place for her nest.

Many other shrubs and plants are putting up new growth as the days lengthen. This is Bramble:

New Bramble growth
And moths are to be expected, now that nectar and pollen are available from the willow trees This is the Hebrew Character, named after the dark marks at the outer edges of the forewings:

Hebrew Character moth



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I found out today that the Hebrew character (letter) is called 'nun' though I don't know how to say it.

Isn't it lovely to see everything slowly waking up?

Linda said...

How lovely.